Wrong The Right
by PaintedScarlet
Summary: Book 3, ep. Crossroads of Destiny. When Zuko decides things have to change, he makes the choice, and pays the price. And Katara's involved. Do Zuko and Katara have the love worth fighting for?
1. The Other Side of The World

Author's note:

This is a re-upload of my story, as to my horror, I've realized that the format of all the chapters have gone awry. I guess you could say it's probably due to the fact that the last time I've looked at my stories up on fanfiction had been in 2009...(insert audible gasp here)  
The full story of what happened (complete with the apologetic tone) is found at the end of Chapter 6: Square One.

Enjoy Wrong The Right!

xoxo  
Scarlet

* * *

**Disclaimer: I am not related to any of the directors or producers of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. If I was, I'd be constantly driving said relative up the wall so he'd go insane and sign over his partial rights to me. And then there'd be Zutara and a sequel. And then we Zutarians would be happy.**

The Other Side Of The World (by KT Tunstall)

_You're the other side of the world to me._

* * *

The ceiling gave way to a large weight overbearing it at full force, and green crystals flew in different directions due to the inward expulsion.

Aang and Iroh came crashing into the catacombs ceiling, looks of worry creased in both their faces. Since Aang had 'seen' Katara in trouble back at the mountains with the Guru whilst learning to try at open up his last chakra, both the Waterbender and Fire Prince had been imprisoned in a cavern situated in Ba Sing Se, a massive enclosed area with green light emitting from crystals that grew in it. Zuko and Katara were still in the midst of the conversation concerning the special Spring Oasis water Katara obtained and its magical healing powers.

"Aang!" Katara shouted in relief. She withdrew her hand away from Zuko's face and ran to hug the 12-year-old airbender.

At the same time, Iroh and Zuko exchanged words, the former glad to see his nephew still alive, and the latter relieved his uncle had come for him.

Aang glared at Zuko over Katara's shoulder, which the Fire Prince returned back in full disdain, over Iroh's shoulder.

* * *

A blaze of blue flames flew past Aang.

"This time, Avatar, you will _not _get away from the Fire Nation," Azula snarled at Aang, narrowing her eyes at Zuko's direction when she brought up the Fire Nation.

Azula shot fire streaks relentlessly, one after the other. Aang stayed on a defensive mode, dodging all of her deadly flames.

"You're so pathetic," the Fire Princess said condescendingly, her lip curling. "Stand your ground and fight like the real Avatar."

Aang moved his arms quickly, sending a wave of wind which threw Azula off balance. Her eyes flashed anger, as she maintained a stable stance, feet one foot apart, and put her hands close together, her index finger and middle finger generating what seemed to be lightning.

Aang braced himself for the worst.

Meanwhile, Katara was busy fighting with Zuko, bending the water to form a whip and using it to slash at him, while he fought it off with fire.

"I thought you had changed," she hissed, drawing up more water with the pull of her hand, letting it curl around her waist in a rope-like form.

"I have," Zuko replied gruffly, punching fire balls at her, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"What a lie," Katara said through gritted teeth. She seethed on the inside. She had been too trusting back then. The Spirit Oasis water was just too precious to be used on impulse. It was to be thought through…and yet, she almost used it. What if somebody else got hurt? Like Aang? Her heart lurched at the very thought. '_No.'_

Adopting her moves, Zuko formed a fire whip and moved it around, trying to gain full control before lashing out at her.

"You lie and you steal my moves! How _low _can you get, really?"

Zuko flinched on the inside. He hadn't really known her, but as far as he was concerned, he had never thought the Waterbender to be so…fierce. So rough and almost evil. Like Azula. Her words stung him, as though she really meant it. It was unrealistically harsh, coming from somebody like Katara.

'_Concentrate, Zuko. You have royal blood running through your veins. You shouldn't even care about the slightest of things that are unimportant, such as this peasant girl. She doesn't even know you. Don't let her get the best of the next-in-line to the heir of the throne. Her puny words don't mean a thing.'_

The Fire Prince sent his fire whip forward, jolting Katara to adopt a fighting stance to brace herself for the onslaught. She raised the water from the nearby underground stream to form a protective shield around her, just a matter of seconds before the jet of fire hit the shimmering wall of water. A cloud of steam drifted from the collision, hanging overhead the fighters. He muttered a curse at her agility, and created yet another fire whip, making it longer and more concentrated than the one before. Katara shifted into an aggressive stance as she pulled the water to coil around her arms, ready to douse the next fire attack he had in mind.

Instead of sending the fire whip at her again, Zuko instead curled the pulsating element into a massive fire ball and launched it towards the Waterbender. Responding quickly, Katara pushed the water forward, the water tentacles surging in his direction. Midway, the two opposing elements collided, creating a large hissing sound. Both benders flew back at the impact, the collision emanating a dull smoky smell.

It was clear both of them were of equal power.

* * *

Aang snapped open his glider and flew to higher ground in the cavern, easily dodging Azula's lightning.

'_Luckily Airbenders are more agile compared to the rest of the benders, otherwise I'd be fried airtoast. I must throw her off. Do something unexpected. Then I can attack her.'_

Aang lifted his hands, the ground beneath his cliff tilting as it rose. He moved his arms forward and the lump of earth travelled towards Azula, who jumped away expertly. She shot more lightning bolts at him, most of them nearly missing Aang's body.

'_This is difficult.'  
_

* * *

Katara's vision blurred and she couldn't manage to sit up. She blinked back tears as the sudden pain shot through her right abdomen area. She narrowed her eyes to try to see through the thick smoke, but it was useless. It was proven almost impossible to see through the dense cloud. She looked above her instead, trying to focus on the green crystals stuck to the ceiling of the cavern, as the smoke hadn't reached that high yet. Then there was a flash of white and blue.

A loud crackling sound filled the air, and Katara last saw the green crystals hanging above her on the ceiling. Flying straight downwards at her. At full speed.

Azula had casted a lightning bolt to hit the ceiling above her, knowing that she won't be able to defend herself in time.

There was sometimes the Southern Water Tribe girl wished terminal velocity didn't exist.

"Oof!" Katara winced, as Zuko pushed her aside roughly, accidentally rolling her into the underground stream.

The green crystals hit the ground, and loud thuds filled the cavern.

'_He saved me. He saved __**me. **__He __**saved **__me.__Why?' _Katara thought.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, his voice barely audible as he clutched his bleeding left arm. Katara glowered at him, still unable to thank her saviour.

"I could have handled it myself. You obviously think lowly of me!" Katara hissed, trying to sit up again.

"You know it wasn't like that."

Katara looked at him, as his soft reply still echoed. Her cerulean eyes searched his face, looking for signs of mockery.

Zuko sat up, squeezing his eyes tight, still clutching his arm. He had bloody scratches over his face, and a long one down his arm. Blood trickled down his left arm, and he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a large open gash cut into his shoulder.

"You're hurt," Katara spoke softly, stating the obvious.

Zuko rolled his eyes, not wanting to admit it was painful. Katara lifted her hand to trace the cut slowly, but he jerked his arm away.

"I'm alright!" he said shortly. He stood up and glanced behind him, and quickly moved away, further from Katara, and kept his head bowed.

"Oh Zuzu, you don't have to risk your life to save a peasant's," Azula said, narrowing her eyes as she strode to stand infront of Katara's feeble form. "But don't worry, other people will finish my job. I've already summoned the Dai Li agents to be here. Come." She signalled at Zuko, walking ahead.

He stalled, glancing at Katara, who was lying and clutching her right abdomen.

"Are you _siding her?_" Azula snapped, turning her head around.

"Azula," Zuko began, lifting his head up. "I'm not going back. Not to aid you, and not for Father. I can honour myself, without gaining any from him. I make my own future. And you should realise killing and war will never solve anything."

Katara widened her eyes, wondering what suddenly made him change his mind. As long as she knew, Zuko had always been chasing them down, hunting them to kill Aang, to restore his honour his father stole, be once again the rightful heir to the throne and most of all, he wanted to be accepted. What made him change his character?

Anger flashed across Azula's eyes and then she snarled, "Then you will die, like the Avatar and his little friends will."

The sound of hundreds of footsteps was heard, as the Dai Li agents were fast making their way in. Katara saw something she never saw before in Zuko's eyes. She saw fear. Fear in its purest form. It was one of the rare times she got a glimpse of Zuko's humane side. Her thoughts broke off as he ran to lift her up, carrying her bridal-style, with one leg straddling limply.

A gush of wind threw him off balance, almost losing his footing. Aang came gliding down, eyes narrowed.

"Let go of her!" Aang shouted.

"I will not harm you," Zuko answered curtly. "We must escape though. The Dai Li agents are arriving soon."

Katara pulled out of his grasp and stood up, careful not to stretch her injured abdomen muscles.

The footsteps fell heavier. Clear as day. They were getting closer.

Katara looked pleadingly at Aang, hoping for his cooperation.

Aang remained stubborn and defiant. "_We? _There is no 'we' with you, Zuko. You've exceeded the damage for the day."

Aang reached out to touch Katara, but she flinched at his touch. He had accidentally grazed Katara's right abdomen, a part which was still sore and bleeding. She recoiled backwards, into Zuko who had been standing behind. Getting the wrong message, hurt showed in Aang's eyes.

He hit the bottom of the glider into the ground, its wings spreading out.

"Then goodbye." Katara let out a strained whisper, watching as her friend glided away from her, further and further.

Aang flew up the exit through the top of the underground waterfall, tears trickling down his cheeks as he sailed higher.

"Them," Azula's cold, steely voice rang out in the cavern. And so Zuko and Katara turned around to find Azula, in front of an army of Dai Li agents.

She was pointing right at them.


	2. Words Hands Hearts

Words Hands Hearts (by Yellowcard)

_Like no one's words were good enough, to define what we fear_  
_And no one's words were strong enough, to fix what happened here_  
_Like no one's hands are big enough, to hold on to this fear_  
_And no one's hands are strong enough, to fix what happened here_  
_Like no one's heart is full enough, to keep away this fear_  
_And no one's heart is strong enough, to fix what happened here_

* * *

A fifty-strong specially trained mobilized troop against two benders, the former composed and ready to attack, whilst the latter were hurt, fatigue set in them. Any spectator would clearly see that this wasn't a fair fight. But who were they to say, if they hadn't met Azula before?

"Katara."

'_The river is only a couple of feet away,' _Katara mused, planning an escape route in her head.

"Katara." The voice was more strained and urgent.

'_Run for it, bend the water to lift me up, and use the advantage of the source of water to form a shield around me.'_

"Katara," Zuko hissed, glancing sideways at her. He was obviously not used to being ignored.

'_And then escape up the waterfall. Freedom.'_

Katara hesitated for a moment.

'_How about Zuko?'_

She turned to Zuko, his face pinched and exhausted. His remaining eyebrow was singed, and a long streak of blood dripped off the left side of his face. His nose was also bruised, but his eyes were by far, the most painful to look at. There was hurt and anguish reflecting back at her in those golden pupils and they no longer shone brightly, but only with fatigue and fear.

"We can't handle them all. We need to escape." His words were bundled together in one short breath. Before Katara could answer, she was cut off by a rude interruption.

"What are you waiting for? Attack them! I want no prisoners today!" Azula bellowed at the Dai Li agents, her eyes shining with fury. Her golden eyes flicked over at Zuko, and she hesitated.

For a mad, magical moment, everyone in the catacombs thought she felt sympathy for wanting to get rid of her own brother, and that even a cold-hearted person like her couldn't even carry out such an odious duty. Azula stepped forward, her face unreadable. Suddenly, she flashed an actual genuine smile.

"Katara," she began, the very first time she actually said her proper name. "I would really like to join the Avatar's group." Katara's eyes widened, and then narrowed in disbelief.

"Wait, it didn't work?" Azula turned to face Zuko. 'Well, Zuzu, how _did _you say it?' Her sentence dripped with sarcasm and contempt, and even Zuko flinched back at the fact that a living human like her could have no heart at all.

"Hmm, what would be something Father would say?" she placed a finger on chin lightly, and for the slight moment, she looked innocent; almost human. Then her lips curled up, forming a sadistic grin. "Oh yes. It would be something following the words of 'permanent lesson'." She leaned in and spat the last two words in his face, smiling a satisfied grin.

Inside, Zuko flared up, but bit his lip before he shouted anything that would bring about their early demise.

Keeping a calm composure, he looked her in the eyes, squaring his shoulders.

"Here I thought, that with such a horrible father, his children would be just like him. But Mother balanced that. I guess you were just too imbalanced in your sanity that even the most caring person in the world…' he paused, almost choking on the last sentence as he was reminded of the person who he loved so dearly. "…couldn't tame the heartless."

Azula threw her head back, laughing bitterly, and walked away. "Oh Zuzu, how little you know me." She glanced back and smirked. "How very little you do."

While walking back, she gave instructions to the Dai Li agents. "I'm bored of watching people die. Torture the both of them instead, and then throw them into the cooler, I'm feeling really sympathetic today."

Two Dai Li agents appeared from the back, swooping down and locking both of them in an Earth cage. She turned around to look at their bewildered faces.

"And by the _cooler,_ I meant the cooler in the _hotter_," Azula explained, her trademark sadistic grin still plastered to her face.

Katara looked at Zuko, her face creased with worry. "Zuko, what does she mean?" Her words were soft, and it sounded resigned. As though she had given up all her sense of hope.

"She means the Boiling Rock," Zuko replied, sounding the same as Katara's feeble voice. "The most guarded prison for the worst criminals in Fire Nation." He looked to the ground, trying to contain his pride, and swallowed down his own fear.

'We're – I'm not from the Fire Nation,' Katara whispered, her voice barely audible.

"She knows that." Katara's cerulean eyes filled with tears, unable to comprehend what he meant. As tears trickled down her cheeks, she pursed her lips.

'_I'm going to be strong. I have to be.' _She kept replaying those two sentences over and over, trying to rid any other unpleasant ones.

The cage started moving, the Dai Li agents bending the earth below to ease it along.

"I'm going to torture the lowly peasant. I'm going to torture her so painfully that she'll break down and tell me where the Avatar is. She'll be so scarred for life, she won't know how happiness will feel anymore. I'll rip out all the hope inside of her, and burn it all down to _nothing_," Azula spat, her voice enunciated with clarity, each syllable echoing throughout the cavern.

Zuko flinched at every word, feeling unbearable pain for Katara, whom the latter stayed silent, gazing at the floor of the cage. Ignoring his pride, he glanced at her, trying to search her eyes for any signs that could be read, realising that it was that much he could do if nothing else.

As much as his golden eyes searched Katara's cerulean ones, he found nothing.


	3. Friend

Author's note: A big thank you to **doctor anthony**, **HPGal3**, **Handerra**, **ArrayePL**, **MidnightThief15**, **pureangel86**, **zutarafan11**, and **hellokitty95**, the lovely people who dropped me reviews/suggestions and appreciated my story!

Friend (by Kaitlyn)

_I like to,_  
_be around you,_  
_when you're not trying to be somebody._

* * *

Zuko found it hard to believe that the once fiery Waterbender (excusable oxymoron) was so fragile and quiet, sitting on the stone cold floor and staring into space. He would understand if she was nervous or feeling any fear towards the upcoming interrogation that Azula had it in for her, but Katara didn't even twiddle her thumbs, let alone utter a word. She just sat there, her shins tucked underneath her thighs in a kneeling-fashion, her lips pursed, her eyes hollow; silent. In those two very miserable days of poor treatment in the prison cell, her weight whittled away. And the guards weren't the only ones who noticed this.

Zuko shot a furtive glance at Katara, keeping his head in low profile, his body facing the other end of the rectangular prison cell. She was still beside her dingy mattress, the same motionless stare cutting right across the cell.

"Peasant," he growled, his voice hoarse. He hadn't been treated any better than Katara – his meals were only twice a day, a watery mixture with a few pieces of lard thrown in for good measure to avoid being charged for mistreating prisoners.

Silence.

"Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!" he hissed loudly, flinging his head around to glare at her. Katara lifted her head slowly, as if in excruciating pain, and then glanced away to the depths of her side in the cell, where it was dark and wet. A lone tear dripped past her cheek and hit the floor.

Zuko let out a haughty breath. "Go ahead and pretend to be depressed, I don't really care. But I still want my thanks for saving you back there in the catacombs." A shrill laughter filled the place, biting through the cold air. Katara flicked her eyes to him, her face contorted in rage.

"It's all your fault!" she screamed, jabbing her index finger in his direction. Although his face was half hidden in the shadows, it was clear that he too, thought Katara must have broken down, her mind teetering near insanity. "Aang wouldn't have left me! It's all your fault!" she repeated the last sentence again, this time with more anger and contempt, and she let out a bitter laugh.

The last laugh sounded more sad than bitter, and it slowly faded away as her shoulders slumped and her body automatically curled, somewhat defending herself. Zuko flinched back as her laugh continued echoing, disgusted at her audacity to blame everything on him. He turned away, his back facing her.

"You know it isn't." Katara narrowed her eyes at his reply, and felt the desire the hurl more accusations at him, when the door was flung open.

"Well, am I not interrupting a slanging match, here?" a cold voice announced, the question sounding more like a statement. A tall, slightly elderly man entered in swiftly, standing just in front of the prison cell's tightly locked gate.

"The banished prince. Today's my lucky day," he snarled, his eyes taking in the straight and alert posture sitting in the far corner on the left side. A satisfied smile formed over his lips. He glanced over to Katara, who was stiffly kneeling on the right side. "The Avatar's friend. It's all such a little perfect deal I could cry." He laughed in contempt before nodding at some guards outside.

"Take the peasant girl to the interrogation room, and Prince Zuko to the New Chamber." He turned back and smiled. "This is the best day ever."

The olive-skinned guard interrupted the man who was seemingly in-charge of the Boiling Rock prison. "Sir, but which chamber do you mean by the New Chamber? Do you mean the Old Chamber?"

The Old Chamber was the infamous name that everyone referred to in the Boiling Rock. It was a tight room that had a narrow top. It had no ceiling, but just an open square of sunlight, and everyone who sat there would suffer, seeing that freedom was just a foot away, but yet unable to do anything for if they were to move, they would get whipped by a nearby guard on duty.

"Yes I mean the Old Chamber!" the elder snapped, losing his patience. "It was newly refurbished! But it still retains its name!" Zuko, even though fully aware of the pain he was in for, couldn't help but let a smirk adorn his face. Katara, however, shot daggers at the one in-charge, her eyes solid as steel.

The guard bowed quickly and began to go on his way, when he paused to contemplate something. "What would I tell them if I were to pass this orders?" The elder scowled.

"Do you want me to fire you? Because I'm clearly thinking about this at this exact moment!" He shouted, his voice echoing in the cell. The guard flinched, but he stayed, still wanting to get his answer. "Incompetent fool! Tell them a rephrase of our earlier conversation." He exited, his long crimson warrior robe swishing on the floor. The guard chased after him and bolted the door behind, asking another question.

"Sir, so shall I call it the newly refurbished Old Chamber, or the old torture New Chamber?" His question was heard outside the corridor and beyond the door, his voice clear although panicked.

Zuko could have sworn he heard a scream of frustration tearing the air, even from within his prison cell.

* * *

Another day passed, this time uneventfully. Katara was still in denial, silent and not speaking a word unless spoken to. Zuko stayed quiet, not moving unless to eat. It was almost night until the game of charades stopped.

"I know you won't answer me anyway," Zuko began, shifting his tone to be friendlier and warmer. "But I hear you cry when you sleep every night. What's wrong?" Katara was slightly taken aback by his attempt to be nice. It sounded surreal and just…wrong. She narrowed her eyes in disbelief.

"I can keep my problems to myself, thank you," she snapped, turning away and clutching her mother's necklace.

"It's the necklace, isn't it," he stated simply. Then suddenly understanding dawned on his face. "No wonder you were so touchy when I got hold of it!" Katara threw an impolite curse at him.

"You stole it, you moron!" she shouted, writhing on her mattress so he couldn't see she was still holding her necklace protectively.

He lost his patience. "I did not steal it!"

"You did!" she screamed back, in equal indignation.

"No I didn't! Don't be stupid!"

"You did!"

"I found it in a Fire Nation base! Where they kept the Earthbenders! You dropped your own precious little necklace!"

"You di – _what?_" she paused halfway and turned her body around to face him, genuinely interested. "Why didn't you just say so? Instead of denying it all this time."

"I just – uh. I don't know!" he curled further into the wall. He stole a look at her, and she was tearing up again, her eyes shimmering in the dim light provided by a single torch in the corner.

"Oh great, you're crying again. Sozin help me, I just can't understand girls!" he sighed, sounding less angry than he initially intended to.

"Zuko," Katara said, getting his attention. "Why did you suddenly save me in Ba Sing Se? I don't understand. Pride and honour was all you lived on." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome," he added sarcastically.

"Why?" Her voice was persistent.

"I – don't know. Instincts and feelings, I guess."

Katara kept silent for awhile, turning back to the wall again.

"Thank you," she whispered into the still prison air. Even though it was soft, Zuko let a small smile creep onto his lips.

* * *

"Tell me, peasant, how was your little trip here?" Azula demanded, circling around a chained Katara. Heavy metal contraptions pinned her limbs to the ground, and it was even a pain just to lift her head up.

The trip, in honest, wasn't all that lovely either. A burly guard had grabbed her by her mother's necklace from the back at first, but she had put up a strong fight, summoning all the water she could from the corners of the cell. Azula sent the bruised guy back in the day time instead of night, when she wouldn't be powerful enough. Although the tough fourteen-year old young lady kicked, screamed, and yelled, she was nevertheless dragged all the way to the torture room. Down the stairs, and up again, for the man said he had 'forgotten' the way there, making it obvious he wanted to teach her a lesson for her previous attack. Each time they went down the stairs, her bottom would hit against the step below, her tailbone aching, and each time they went upwards, it scraped her tailbone again. By the time they reached the room, Katara was bleeding all over, bruises covered her arms and legs, and scratches showed up wherever it was possible.

Azula spat in her direction again. "How was your wonderful trip?" She spoke louder and slower, indicating that she thought Katara to be an idiot.

Drawing all the energy she had left, Katara lifted her head, her once beautiful eyes now shaded with anger and pain. The glare she gave the Fire Princess was so deadly, that even the hard-hearted guards had to step back, flinching. But not the heartless. Azula continued to stand there, a satisfied smirk on her face in response. She scuffed her right boot on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that went up Katara's nostrils directly. She coughed automatically, her eyes tearing.

'_Is this what my life is going to be like? Will I allow myself to be tortured progressively by this evil witch, taking all of it without retaliating?'_

Finally, in one heart-stopping moment, she contemplated something, but then looked down in defeat, instead of putting up a fight and let the princess continue with her mocking and probing for the whereabouts of Aang.

'_I'm no longer the helpless little girl I once was when they wrecked my village.'_

"Azula, please. I beg you, let me sit on a chair. You've tortured me enough coming here," Katara looked up, her eyes pleading.

"I have to say, peasant. I'm impressed. You dare try tricking me?" Azula snarled, her upper lip curling back in disdain. "Worthless peasant!" She kicked again, conjuring up another dust cloud. Katara didn't give a reaction, her head still hung. Her body was crouched, still in a defensive position.

"Once I come back, I expect my answer. You'll tell me where the Avatar is already, or there won't be much of you left to torture," Azula snapped, striding out of the door. Another guard, that had a slightly different outfit walked in, and behind him other guards took over, standing in front of the only door to freedom. The lieutenant with baby blue eyes came over and tentatively held her head up by the chin.

"You…peasant! Tell us – or we kill your friend!" he tried threatening, but he obviously wasn't used to these kind of things. Katara looked up at him, her cerulean eyes glistening with tears. She looked pitiful, her body small, like a little girl crying for help. It hit the guard hard, for he too had a little sister whom had died in an accident a long time ago. Shaking, the guard dropped his hand and broke eye contact.

"Is the full moon soon?" Katara whispered, his voice rasping against the cold metal in the room. The guard looked shocked.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, his voice incredulous. Then he cleared his throat and asked again, this time changing it to sound as if didn't care. The other guards stood nearby, silently protesting, but what could they do? The soft-hearted guard _was _the lieutenant.

"I just – I just want to know if I could die on the full moon. I have a special meaning to the day." The guard widened his eyes, then looked around, wanting approval from the guards. They all nodded, seeing it pointless to disagree with a person from a higher ranking.

"Chen!" ordered the lieutenant. "Find out the day when there's a full moon!" Katara's head perked up as she heard him. Then he began to walk out of the room, and she panicked.

"No wait!" she breathed, her voice soft. "Azula won't let me have my wish!" She coughed to the ground, feigning ill. The lieutenant stiffened.

"Wait a minute…" he looked skeptically at Katara. She glanced up and realised he might know something. She cursed at herself quietly and bit the insides of her cheeks, waiting for her predicament.

"…I heard another guard telling me his other friend of his was stupid or something by going all the way back to the Water Tribe up north, to celebrate some Yue Moon Spirit Festival, like that." Katara, as much as she wanted to jump out in joy, held back and tried holding back a smile.

"When is it?" she asked, keeping the tone of hope hidden.

"Tonight."

* * *

The door of the New Chamber was flung open, and Azula came storming in.

"Greetings, _traitor_." She spat out the last word so bitterly that saliva flew in Zuko's direction. "You're going to do something for me." She edged closer to the slumped figure in the chair. Zuko was badly tortured, whip marks all over his body, and the guard holding the whip standing behind bowed slightly and stepped back.

"I won't be a part of your evil plans, Azula!" he growled, his voice strained with fatigue. He tilted his head to look upwards at the dark sky in defensive response. Even though he couldn't see a single star in sight, he found it better looking at it than looking at his crazy sibling. She gripped him by the chin, her nails digging into his pale flesh painfully. She pulled his face to her flawless one just inches away, forcing him to look at her. Their gold eyes locked for a second, before she spoke, her breath heating his face.

"You will _do_ as I _say_." Her threaten dripped of anger and annoyance. Both brother and sister continued to glare at each other in silence, her threat still hanging in the air.

And then the guard unlocked his chains.

* * *

Azula barged through the door, knocking a guard standing in front. "Well, peasant. I hope I'm going to be setting off to find the Avatar by tomorrow sunrise." She stood a foot away from Katara's crouched figure. "Indulge me."

"What hope, Azula? You _have _no hope in that empty life of yours," Katara stated, narrowing her eyes at the Fire Princess. This accuse particularly flared her up.

"Shut up!" she screeched, slapping her across the face. Then she calmed herself, breathing slowly. "I've brought somebody here for you." A smirk formed on her lips.

Katara whipped her head up, wondering what she meant. Azula lifted a slender hand and beckoned in somebody outside the door. A guard came in, pulling Zuko behind him, handcuffed. Katara's eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Zuzu, tell this child why you're here for," she said, her lips pulling into a grin. Zuko glanced away, and avoided eye contact with Katara.

"I – have to – " he looked up into Katara's eyes, and then he felt his heart shatter.

"Go on!" Azula prompted, folding her arms in satisfaction at the amount of hurt she was causing today.

"…torture…" he choked on the word, and quickly continued, not wanting Azula to interpret wrongly. "…you?" The last word came out like in a questioning manner.

Katara flicked her eyes from Zuko to Azula, and understood straightaway. Cruel evil Azula, no surprise there.

The lieutenant handed a whip to the banished prince, his hands shaking. Zuko stared at the whip longer than intended to. The very same type of whip that was used to break his epidermis apart, not an hour ago. He stirred with disgust inside, and took the whip out of the lieutenant's grip slowly.

"Go on!" Azula shouted again, clearly impatient. She was obviously late for something important such as an all-important war meeting, but yet inexplicably excited to watch this torturous event unfolding before everyone's eyes.

In Zuko's right hand, he continued to grip the whip tightly, staring unfocusedly at Katara.. He began to swing his arm to the side, lifting the whip high up.

Katara looked at him, her eyes shining with tears.

Azula looked on, a smirk on her face.

The lieutenant stood there, glancing away, unable to witness the horror of it all.

The guards stuck around, waiting with bated breath wondering what would happen in the course of the following few minutes.

And in the end, if the only choice that life has left you, is a choice between something and nothing, don't you in fact…

…have no choice at all?

* * *

**Commentary:**

- Yes, Katara was contemplating about bloodbending, so thanks to _hellokitty95 _for that lovely idea!

- The 'old chamber' and 'new chamber' crap stuff was a steal from that episode when Aang met King Bumi.

- The necklace talk came because I realised the whole show didn't mention Zuko telling the truth. He just took it that Katara thinks he stole it, since after all, she accused him of that again in the episode The Western Air Temple, and he didn't clear his name on that.

- I took the last paragraph from _Miki Falls (Winter), _a book by_ Mark Crilley _and I think that whole series is awfully awesome.

Thanks for all the reviews.

xoxo  
- Scarlet


	4. Pieces of Me

**Preamble **(because this author is bored): A teenage girl sits in front of a television, snacking and watching Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Episode Part 4: Sozin's Comet, '_Avatar Aang_'.

_Mai enters Zuko's royal room. They start blabbering._

"What the hell! I thought Zuko and Katara had _a little something-something _going on!" said teenage girl screaming and throwing her licorice sticks at a very stunned sister sitting near her.

_Mai and Zuko kissed._

"Tell me this is a joke." Teenage girl crosses her arms over her chest and heaves a big sigh.

Very stunned sister says in glee, "Go Kataang!"

Teenage girl storms out before the episode finishes, grumbling to herself and reaching for the phone to call a friend to shout together about the audacity of Maiko in Avatar.

**Therefore, she does not own Avatar.**

"Well I damn wish I did!" teenage girl screams at the overhead narrator.

* * *

Pieces of Me (by Ashlee Simpson)

_Fall... Sometimes I fall so fast,_  
_When I hit that bottom 'crash',_  
_You're all I have_

* * *

_And in the end, if the only choice that life has left you, is a choice between something and nothing, don't you in fact…_

…_have no choice at all?_

Zuko's knuckles were turning whiter the harder he grasped the whip – it was as though his life depended on it. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples, as he watched Katara look at him, her face unreadable.

'_She probably thinks I'm just like Azula. Like I'd pull another trick again, like I'm heartless and evil. Like the mutual friendship we had obtained meant nothing.'_

Zuko's chest tightened, his breathing strained. Decisions like these were always so hard to make, and Zuko was bad with decisions.

'_A peasant wouldn't understand. Royalty would. Azula and Father would,' _The banished prince thought, straightening his shoulders and looking down at Katara with slight disdain. For a moment, his shoulders slumped a bit.

With a stunning realisation, Zuko mentally slapped himself, breathing in a ragged breath. That's when it hit him.

'_This was a __**good**__ thing. Forget all these feelings for her; even those little inklings I had. There wasn't even supposed to be any. Following the path that was against Azula would only lead to pain and regret. Indeed I shouldn't want this, should I? This was a good thing. A good thing…_

…_that I wanted no part of.'_

He swung the whip down, and instead of striking the thick rope against Katara's hunched body, he let his arm swing all the way, flung his whole body around, and whipped Azula instead, who stood behind him. Everything happened in stop motion.

The whip made contact with the Azula's left cheek, sending her hurling back in defense. The guards ran over to aid their Fire Princess; the lieutenant standing there with his mouth agape in shock.

Katara wasted no time in hesitating, collected her breath and lifted her chained arms, her hands bending and swaying. In reluctance, the lieutenant started walking to her, his hand holding the bunch of keys.

"You fool! You're no brother of mine!" Azula shrieked at Zuko, the guards around her flinching at the intensity of her rage.

She shot a concentrated lightning bolt at Zuko, who sidestepped and dodged her attack, missing it by inches.

"Give in Azula, and maybe I won't hurt you yet." Azula narrowed her eyes and answered with mock sympathy.

"What are you going to do? Tell Mother?" The comment hit Zuko straight home. It was a verbal attack right for the jugular. He took a deep breath and focused driving out more flames at her, while Katara battled her own adversities.

The lieutenant had already, much as he didn't want to, unlocked her chains and was now thrown to the opposite end of chamber. Katara stood up and readied herself, slowly raising her hands up. Being vanquished from those chains had an effect on her – the liberation made her feel rejuvenated. The guards were still standing there in shock after seeing her controlling their lieutenant, and backed away cowardly, backing into the metal walls. The metal grates on the floor suddenly started shaking so violently, that everybody stopped fighting for a moment and looked around curiously. Even Azula stopped attacking Zuko and looked at a metal grate near her. In a few seconds, Azula deduced the source right away.

"Stop her!" she shouted, ordering the guards near Katara. They hesitated a moment longer than supposedly expected to.

"Then I will!" She started charging up another lightning bolt, but Zuko lunged forward and knocked into her, tackling her to the ground and causing the lightning bolt to go off course and striking the ceiling instead.

Katara took a deep breath and her arms rose higher, and hot water spurted out of the grates, scalding the unsuspecting guards who tried pursuing the Waterbender. Their collective screams ran cold in the chamber, and Katara started bending a long stream of steaming water around her to fend off the others.

Azula pushed Zuko roughly off her, and shot a lightning bolt at Katara in anger. Katara threw the jet of water up in the air and it fell down, forming a curved dome around her, and then quickly turned it into ice before the bolt came into contact with the water dome which would have short-circuited her. The lightning bolt cracked into the dome, resulting in small splinters falling off. Meanwhile, Zuko jumped onto Azula, his knees cracking down on her spine, pinning her down. A scream of pain mixed with rage rang out, and unable to move her arms, she started wildly kicking and pointlessly sending out blue flames in every direction her legs could swing in. The guards were unable to help, as they feared her uncontrolled blue flames.

Katara had trapped two guards in her dome and two metal grates, so she was sufficiently supplied with the source to detain them. One guard shot flames at her, and she dodged and whipped him aside with a hot stream of water that curled protectively around her waist. She made the water seep out of the grates, and it flooded around the guards, and they suddenly stopped attacking and hopped around, trying to avoid stepping into the hot puddles. She controlled pushing the water forward so that it cornered both of them and they had to step on the grates, one each. The water seeped back into the grates, and the guards looked up at Katara, who now gave a small knowing smile, thrusting her arms in the air, making the water shoot up from the grates and freeze around their legs. Then she let her arms drop and the dome of ice melted and midway, she froze the water droplets into icicles and shot them outwards all around her, pinning all the rest of the guards to the ground.

Azula looked on in fury as all the guards were rendered useless by a Watertribe peasant. She let out a scream, and blue flames shot out of her mouth, and everyone flinched. She burned a hole through the ceiling, and the melted metal dripped from the top. Katara ran and hit the dangerous liquid aside with a water whip, preventing it from making contact with the pinned guards below. She collected the hot water around her legs, and froze them upwards, making a roughly shaped staircase.

"Zuko! Let's go!" she said, running up without hesitation. Zuko glanced in bewilderment at her, and shot back a grateful look, then suddenly shook his head.

"You go on ahead!" he replied, still pinning down Azula. She kicked her legs again in response.

"Where's the rest of my guards?" she screamed, and as if on cue, footsteps came thudding down the metal corridor. Katara paused, and a look of fear was exchanged between her and the Fire Prince.

* * *

_3 days ago._

"I know I shouldn't say this, Twinkletoes, but this is by far _the _most stupid, insane thing you've ever done," Toph commented, lying on Appa, her head propped up with her hands.

"What happened to Katara?" Sokka squawked, his voice breaking at the shrillness.

Aang sat on Appa's head and kept quiet, staring ahead stonily. "I don't know, Sokka, for the third time." His voice was monotonous, although it sounded concealed, as if he was hiding his feelings about it. Or maybe, just what he had witnessed.

"What happened to Katara?" Sokka squawked again, walking in circles nervously on Appa's saddle. Appa let out a growl, noticing the absence of one member in the group.

"Calm down for a moment, Sokka," Toph said, her voice even. "We'll just find 'em then break her outta there. Where ever she is. Easy." Sokka started chewing on his knuckles.

"What if Azula had – "

"Stop worrying, Sokka! I'm sorry, okay?" Aang interrupted, squeezing his eyes shut. "We'll find out where they are!"

Sokka sat down furiously, refusing to answer the Avatar. Ever since he and Toph found out about an hour ago, he had been particularly furious at Aang for leaving Katara behind.

"I still can't believe you left my sister with a couple of thousand Dai Li fancy pants and two poorly brought up Ozai-insane children!" he grumbled, lying against at the side of Appa's saddle.

Aang closed his eyes for awhile, and remembered the whole event again in pain and regret. "Look guys, I'm really sorry, but I wasn't thinking straight back there! I promise nothing will happen to Katara. We'll find her and get her out."

Nobody said anything for a while, and Momo sat there, purring in her lemur language.

Toph bit her bottom lip and said the obvious question in everyone's minds.

"How?"

* * *

_1 day after that, still 2 days ago._

"This place is way better than Ba Sing Se," Toph grinned, as they walked around a Fire Nation village.

"I have an idea guys! We find somebody here and ask him where Katara would be at!" Aang perked up, Momo startled by the sudden jerk when Aang stiffened his shoulders.

"Oh yeah, we could just march up to an old man and say 'Hey mister, do you know where your crazy Fire Princess has taken our friend to?' and the man will say 'Oh no I don't know, but how in Four Nations did she even get caught?' and we'll say 'Oh well, the Avatar here just left her behind to eat blue flames and have a shockful of lightning to the mouth.'" Sokka made a cutting motion at his neck. Aang glared at him then sighed.

"I told you I'm sorry, Sokka!" Aang said in indignation, crossing his arms.

"Yep, and that's the fiftieth time so far you have," Toph shrugged, picking up a stray apple on the ground. Sokka glared at Toph.

"You don't care, do you, Toph?" He jabbed an accusing finger in the blind Earthbender's direction. She rubbed the apple against her dirty shirt and shrugged again.

"Look, Snoozles, Twinkletoes did what he did, and there's no going back. It's clear as day obvious the only way we can contribute to all this unnecessary grief is to all help and try to find out where Sugar Queen could be imprisoned at." She sunk her teeth into the apple, and juice trickled down her chin, and she licked her lips. Sokka sighed in defeat and crossed his arms at his chest.

"Fine," he grumbled, tossing his head. Aang nodded once in approval, and they started walking again.

Sokka accidentally bumped into an elderly man, who wore a sun hat that shaded his eyes. He wore old red Fire Nation clothes, and had a portly stomach. He looked up briefly and quickly glanced down.

"I am sorry, young man." He continued walking on his way.

Aang stopped midway. "His voice sounded familiar!"

Toph stopped midway. "His footsteps sounded familiar!"

Sokka stopped midway. "His hat looked familiar! I saw it in one of those small shops around!"

Aang looked at Sokka, blinking, and Toph sighed. Sokka shrugged. "I can't be gifted like the rest of you."

Toph and Aang cracked up laughing, doubling over and then they realised guiltily, that this was the first time in a long time they had a good laughter like that.

They hurried after the old man, rounding corners trying to find him. Aang ran ahead, using his air bending as an advantage, and Toph tried feeling his familiar footsteps. Sokka, well, Sokka tried to find him too, in the traditional way, by running. They scoured almost the whole village, before finally getting a breather in an alleyway.

"I think he disintegrated off the land," Sokka commented, bending down to touch his knees, breathing in raggedly.

"_I _think he melted. Disintegration sounds a little off, even for you Sokka," Toph mused.

"I don't think so," Aang disagreed, sitting down.

Toph's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Wait guys. I hear something."

Sokka pointed at Momo. "It's probably Momo's stomach. I noticed recently that he digests noisily," Sokka mockingly tut-tutted at the stunned lemur.

"Out of all the lemurs in the temple, the only one that survived is the one with the poor digestive system." He threw up his hands in proving his point.

Aang kept quiet, and looked down. "I understand you're upset at me because of Katara, Sokka, but don't start jabbing insults pointedly at my nation or anything about it!"

Sokka flinched, and turned to Aang. "Sorry Aang, I'm just a little cranky with the whole chasing thing, and plus with Katara's incident, I'm just irritated." He sat down too, and placed a hand on Aang's small shoulder. "Sorry about that comment." Aang looked up and gave a small smile.

"Guys, it's not Momo, quit your male bonding!" Toph said, trying to get their attention. "It's him!"

Aang turned his head and saw a figure approaching them from the end of the alleyway. He strained his eyes, and tried figuring out who he was. Sokka noticed Aang squinting his eyes.

"Who's that?" Toph quietly asked, her question directed at Aang.

Aang snapped out of his trance and looked questioningly at Sokka and Toph. "Who's who?"

Sokka pointed lazily at the figure who was getting closer. "Uh, the guy who's breaking your neck."

Toph stifled a giggle and covered her mouth. Aang rolled his eyes and stood up, ready to greet the stranger.

"So the Avatar is hiding from the Fire Nation _in _the Fire Nation lands." The voice sounded familiar. Sokka and Toph stood up as well, wondering who he was.

"I won't hurt you. I just want to ask you what happened to my nephew."

"Iroh?" Aang questioned in disbelief.

* * *

_Exactly 1 day ago._

"After we found them in the catacombs, I slipped out to make sure guards weren't coming so you could get out," Iroh explained, walking around the table pouring tea into their respective tea cups. Aang, Toph and Sokka were seated around the table, and Iroh settled down at the head of the table. Aang nodded, remembering.

"Katara and I fought against Azula and Zuko," Aang cut in. "Then I kept dodging Azula's lightning bolts and fire. Then an explosion happened, and the next thing I knew, Katara was on the ground, bleeding and hurt."

Sokka's eyes widened. "Then what happened?"

"Azula shot a lightning bolt at the top, and the sharp green crystals almost speared a defenseless Katara," Toph interrupted coolly. All of them glanced questioningly at Toph.

"What?" she shrugged, feeling the silence. "It sounds like it happens in stories." She took a sip of her tea, innocently blinking.

Aang nodded. "Yeah, that's what happened. I was going to save her, but out of nowhere, Zuko pushed her aside, helping her." Iroh looked impressed.

"My nephew did that?"

"Yeah, I was shocked too." Iroh smiled warmly.

"My nephew is no longer the disillusioned boy he once was, I'm supposing." Sokka shook his head, not believing it.

"I don't believe that!" Sokka flared up, hitting his fist on the table, spilling tea on the rough wood. "We can't trust him!"

Toph straddled a leg, and swung her arm over the backrest. "Maybe he's changed." Sokka glared at her.

"You just love challenging me, don't you," Sokka grumbled, wiping up his spilt tea.

Iroh and Aang exchanged a look, wondering if Zuko _had _indeed changed.

Toph shrugged, her composure calm and smooth. "Look, I don't know this Zuko very well, but if it seems that he can be trustworthy in saving a person's life," Toph continued. "And in this case someone we love, Katara, then I don't see why he can't be trusted with anything else."

Iroh nodded approvingly. "She's right, as they say; the darkest man even has the lightest heart." They raised their eyebrows at the weird remark.

"O-kay," Sokka said slowly, understanding nothing.

"Then after that, I wanted to escape with Katara, and I touched her…" Aang said, trailing off. Sokka leaned closer. "But she _flinched back, _into _Zuko._" He looked down solemnly.

"What?" Sokka shouted, standing up. "That guy has brainwashed her!" He pushed his chair aside roughly and folded his arms across his chest.

"_Maybe she likes him_," Toph sang out in a teasing manner. "And maybe, just maybe, _he likes her back._"

"Not possible," Aang quickly cut in, looking at Toph. "Not possible, right?" He looked at Iroh questioningly.

"I do not know Prince Zuko anymore, if he has really changed for the better. Since I'm not with him, I don't know what's running through his mind right in this instant."

Sokka grabbed his chair and furiously sat down, breathing deeply. "This is insane!"

"Relax, Snoozles. Sugar Queen knows what she's doing." Toph picked up her teacup and asked for thirds.

"Iroh, do you know where Azula might've imprisoned them at?" Aang asked, offering his teacup too, for seconds.

Iroh thought for a moment. "If she hasn't already killed them, they would probably be at the Boiling Rock." He picked up the teapot and poured the tea for them.

"Where's that?" Toph asked, taking back her filled cup.

"It's a volcano area with hot water surrounding it, known as the prison for the worst criminals in the Fire Nation, other captives, and refugees." Sokka looked up in horror.

"Katara!" he squealed, his voice sounding like a child in shock.

"Where's that?" Toph asked again, not getting the answer she initially wanted.

"In the Fire Nation waters. It's in the middle of the journey from here to the Western Air Temple," Iroh informed them, taking a sip of his tea.

"The Boiling Rock, here we come," Aang and Sokka stated together, gritting their teeth. Iroh nodded.

Toph lazily put her arms behind her head and sat back. "Fun, here we come."

* * *

_Present._

"Come on, we can rush it!" Katara shouted at Zuko, who still held on to Azula. He glanced back at the door.

"You go first!" he shouted back. Katara hesitated, looking at him. "Go!" She climbed the stairs, and finally reached the top. She peered down.

"Zuko! Come on!" She beckoned. Then she heard Azula shout out in rage.

She saw Zuko running up the stairs, but was still almost at the bottom. She saw Azula getting up, her face contorted in fury. Katara made a wall of water below, splashing at Azula's face as she trashed through it with ease and made a grab at Zuko's shirt. He made an attempt at swatting her hand away. Just when everything couldn't have gotten any worse, the door flung open, and in streamed a fresh new batch of guards.

Zuko glanced up at Katara. "Get rid of the stairs!"

With shaking hands, she did a pushing motion downwards, the ice stairs melting and splashing back onto the floor. Zuko leapt up on one of the once solid ice steps and reached out his arm. For a moment, Katara thought he was too far away to hold, but then she inched herself closer to the side of the gap and managed to hold four fingers of his right hand.

Below them, Azula was now burning a hole through the ceiling on the part where Katara was lying on top. Her eyes widened in horror as she felt the heat seep through the material. She let go of one of hands from Zuko's grip, and bended the water out of her water skin and used it to whip at Azula's face. She smacked it away in anger and continued heating the metal.

"Pathetic," Azula snarled to herself. "Once I have you lowly scum under captive there won't be survival anymore!" Her blue flames increased with each word she spoke.

Katara held his fingers with two hands, while Zuko fought off the newly summoned guards with his other free hand.

"Zuko…" He looked up, his face creased with worry. "We can't make it."

The veins in Katara's hand stood out at the pressure of Zuko's weight, and the sweat between their skins lubricated the grip. Zuko slipped further down an inch as Katara held onto three fingers now.

"Don't say that," he whispered, and then frantically tried searching for other ways they could get out of the situation.

Then suddenly, Katara felt a sharp pain on her stomach. Azula had burned the metal right through, and the melted metal scalded Katara's soft skin.

"Ouch!" Katara shouted in pain, feeling the sudden burn. And instinctively, she let go.

"Zuko!" she screamed, tears falling from her eyes, realising in shock. She looked down and saw him falling back into the torture and pain they once were so close to escaping.

* * *

**Commentary:**

**- [**_'This was a __**good**__ thing. Forget all these feelings for her; even those little inklings I had. There wasn't even supposed to be any. Following the path that was against Azula would only lead to pain and regret. Indeed I shouldn't want this, should I? This was a good thing. A good thing…_  
_…that I wanted no part of.'_**]**

from Miki Falls (Winter), a comic book by Mark Crilley. Adapted to make it in Zuko's POV.

**- [**_'Oh well, the Avatar here just left her behind to eat blue flames and have a shockful of lightning to the mouth.'"_**]**

'shockful of lightning' came from Sokka's actual dialogue in Part 1: Invasion,_ The Phoenix King.  
_

**- [**_"Who's that?" Toph quietly asked, her question directed at Aang._

Aang snapped out of his trance and looked questioningly at Sokka and Toph. "Who's who?"

Sokka pointed lazily at the figure who was getting closer. "Uh, the guy who's breaking your neck."**]**

from Episode '_Kiss_', Season 1 of Dawson's Creek. Adapted to Avatar and storyline.

That's all the little quotes and stuff that didn't come originally from me.  
Much appreciated to all of you who've kept on going strong with reading WTR!

__xoxo  
- Scarlet


	5. Steer

Steer (by Missy Higgins)

_It was always simple, not hidden hard  
You've been pulling on the strings  
Playing puppeteer for kings  
And you've had enough_

* * *

The kitchen double doors swung back, and an angry Fire Nation soldier stormed out holding a bowl, spilling almost half of its contents. His eyes flicked across the landing, choosing his unsuspecting victim.

"Take this food to the dungeon below," the lieutenant, a tall burly man with broad shoulders announced clearly, ordering a guard that stood a foot away.

The guards nearby exchanged a look, silently deciding who their officer meant in particular. In about two seconds, one timid guard skittered forward to hold the bowl, his hands shaking with fear.

"W – Where to, si – sir?" he stammered softly, trying hard to look his superior dead in the eyes. The lieutenant glared down at him.

"Must I repeat myself?" he said through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if all of you underwent your proper training to be a guard."

The guard cast his eyes down to the filthy white bowl with a single red stripe around the circumference, watching a somewhat potato chunk-esque object float in a watery brown stock.

Then he bowed slightly, indicating he felt mutual towards the previous question and walked away, keeping his head tilted downwards. When his higher ranking officer should have made him stand there and be disgraced for his incompetent behaviour, he instead watched him go from a few metres away, nodding his head slowly.

He didn't think the prison guard had the guts to stand up to someone of higher ranking, much less retort back with a gesture.

What the lieutenant didn't see was that the guard's hands were convulsing in fear so hard that the bowl was almost a quarter empty now.

* * *

The guard went down uncountable flights of stairs, dark corridors, and unlit torches that had been burnt away to its very bottom, before finally reaching his destination. There was only one place that the residents referred to as the 'dungeon', and as it withholds its name; it was a darkly lit cave-like prison. Many people died in here before, due to either wounds, or rather, inevitably by disease. It hadn't been occupied since, but it was now a regular trip for soldiers down here three times a day, because now it had a new tenant. Or in other words – another unlucky victim waiting for his untimely death.

He fumbled with the bunch of keys hanging on his belt, his sweaty fingertips slipping against the cold hard metal. The jangle of the keys echoed each time in the dead silent cavern, and he flinched at every sound it made. He wasn't just scared, he was terrified.

He chose a roughly-shaped and jagged key that he deemed the right one, and plunged it into the keyhole of the rusty lock that held the gates of the dungeon closed. Twisting it gave a satisfying click, and the lock opened wide and fell to the ground. With a push, he sent one side of the gate creaking backwards, and he pried a torch from the wall and began to walk further in.

"H-hello?" he squeaked, his voice almost shrill. He thought he saw a shadow move across the space, and he jumped a metre back in reaction. He thrust the torch forward.

"Don't come near me!" he shouted, trying to make his voice sound threatening.

"I'm putting your food down here and leaving. Don't even try to do anything I wouldn't!" He bent down and settled the bowl on the ground, his hand trembling.

"Go back home, you don't belong here."

The voice that echoed loudly in the cavern was hoarse and raspy, and the guard was startled by such a random statement.

"Eat your food and be silent!" he ordered, nudging the bowl across the ground with his foot.

He walked to the side of the dungeon and groped the wall, searching for a sort of ring. Once he found one, he carefully placed the torch in it, and firebended the flame to enlarge in size so that the entire place was lit.

He saw the Fire Prince hunched at the corner, his back against the wall and his knees curled up to his chest. He was almost topless, and the guard noticed he ripped his shirt to shreds and used it as a tourniquet to wrap around his abdomen. His pale, bloodied skin showed in the light, and the dark red scar on his left side of his face was hidden behind a scrap of cloth.

Zuko continued staring at him, his eyes unreadable. He squinted his eyes, as though summing up the guard's appearance, and continued to speak.

"You don't belong here," he echoed his last sentence, shifting his weight towards the wall, leaning on it. "You didn't come here because you wanted to."

"You came here because you didn't have a choice," Zuko plowed on. "Neither did I."

The guard stepped over tentatively, and crossed his arms. "Well no, my family is poor. I had to work to earn. Since my father died in an accident, my mother cried herself blind."

A tear dripped down his cheek, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"She's all I have, and even though I hate being so far away from her, someone has to provide the family with food." Zuko let a smile creep onto his face, and then he coughed and turned away.

"You have it hard," he stated. The guard, feeling more and more comfortable with the conversation, nodded and walked closer to Zuko.

"But I had it harder," Zuko said through gritted teeth.

With a swift movement, Zuko swept his leg forward, his foot hooking onto the guard's left one, and sent him flailing to the ground. He let out a yelp, his voice echoing loudly in the cavern, and Zuko quickly kicked him hard in his stomach and he doubled over, whining softly in pain.

"And now you have it even harder, because that's what happens in life. It gets harder and harder," he hissed, standing over him.

A rush of sadness washed over the Crown Prince as he realized what he had done.

'_What have I become?' _Zuko thought, wincing as he watched the man coughing up a thick liquid from his mouth.

He scrunched up his face in regret, and for a moment, he wanted his Mother there. He wanted her to be there, hold him, and tell him everything's going to be alright. He wanted her to tell him what's right and what's wrong, and most of all, what to do.

"I'm sorry." The man continued hurling out blood, not responding to Zuko's apologies. Well, he didn't need him to, either. Then the Fire Prince grabbed the rest of his torn up shirt, downed the remaining contents of his watery gruel, and ran out through the gates, locking it behind him.

He didn't glance back.

* * *

_1 day ago._

"The constant billow of smoke will help us. They won't be able to spot your bison," Iroh informed, packing his clothing with essentials.

Aang lifted a pack of wheat up to Sokka, who sat on top of Appa, checking the rest of the contents on the saddle.

"Wait guys. Don't you think they might find Appa? While we carry out the plan?" Toph asked, her small body spread out on the muddy ground.

Aang stuck out his bottom lip. "They won't. At least I don't think so."

He turned to face Iroh. "Describe the place again, Uncle Iroh." He stopped passing the wheat and sat down, looking at him. Sokka groaned loudly, and slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"The only way to get out and in is by the cable car that passes over the boiling water below. It takes time to ride it. But it's for the prisoners that come in by ship. Other royalty come in by other types of ferry. Air, water, you name it." Iroh smiled and flipped his White Lotus paisho piece into his pocket.

"And we're going by air. So that covers it," Aang grinned, standing up and gathering other sorts of necessities.

Sokka slung his arm over Appa's saddle, looking down. "Talking more about it, Toph may be right. You guys think they have a bison landing runway on a volcano?"

Toph agreed. "Duh Snoozles, no. That's why we're pretty stupid for taking Appa. We need another way."

Aang paused and rubbed his cheek. "Well…what other way could we go, then? And who'll take care of Appa?" Appa let out a growl.

"Hey, what about that crazy professor that wrecked the air temple?" Sokka suggested, shrugging. "He makes stuff, doesn't he? Like that war balloon?" Aang bit his lip nervously.

"Yeah, but do we have the time to fly there, make a war balloon, and fly back to save Katara?" Toph shook her head, sitting up and propping herself up with her arms. "No, we don't. There must be another way."

"We could go by ship," Iroh stated, adjusting his cloth belt. He shook his head after a while. "No, they could see the trail of smoke from afar, and will know soon enough."

Aang let out a sigh. "Ugh! This is just so hard!" He buried his face in his hands. "This is all my fault. Why don't I just fly there by myself and save her? It'll solve everything."

Toph frowned in disapproval. "No way, Aang. We're all in this together." She stood and walked over to the Avatar, and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. He slowly lifted his head and smiled at the blind Earthbender.

Sokka interrupted the moment, breathing out a sigh. "I give! What else can we do?" Aang stood up, and looked at Iroh.

"Do you think we could disguise ourselves and get in the easy way?" he asked, his eyes bright.

"Let's all go in as soldiers!" Sokka announced, jumping down from Appa's saddle and sliding down his soft fur. Toph let out a snort.

'_Why does he keep jutting in statements and questions that keep reminding everyone I'm blind?' _Toph thought angrily. Then she shifted a little closer towards Aang's direction and curled back her upper lip in disgust towards Sokka's.

"Yeah sure. An old man and a young girl as soldiers. How awfully appropriate," she said bitterly, crossing her arms.

"Hey, I'm not that old," Iroh protested feebly at Toph's pointed sarcasm.

Sokka held up his hands in defense. "At ease, soldier Toph. I've got something else planned for you." Aang looked at the Southern Watertribe teenager questioningly.

"You and Appa can be the distractions. Aang will go in as a soldier. Iroh should be lookout," explained Sokka, waving his hands. "And I, my friends, will be the prisoner. I'm sure Azula would just be waiting to have me and Katara tortured by her."

"How about me being prisoner?" Aang perked up, holding Momo on top of his bald head. "Then I can personally make sure Katara is safe." He grinned at Sokka, who frowned.

"Oh yeah, just wonderful. Give Azula what she wants all this time. You," Sokka groaned, slapping his forehead in mock exasperation.

"Right, forgot about that," Aang grinned sheepishly, putting Momo down. She ran off, skittering around Appa. Toph gave another loud snort in defiance.

Sokka glared at Toph. "What is it with you today and your nostrils?" Toph looked mortified.

"Humph!" she breathed, kicking her foot into the ground, conjuring up an earth platform where Sokka was standing. He was propelled up high in the air, and fell on Appa's saddle. Appa let out a growl in response to Sokka groaning out in pain.

"Okay, fine. No nostril jokes," he said, lifting his index finger in the air as he lay down on the hard saddle in pain. He sat up and pouted miserably as Iroh began talking to Aang about more ideas of transport.

"Hey, I could use an air bubble in the water for Appa! We could travel underwater!" Aang suggested, patting his air bison. Appa roared affectionately.

"That's right buddy, we won't leave you." He smiled and continued playing with him.

"That's a good idea, though. But what about Appa after that? Once we get off, where will he go?" Toph asked, sitting on the ground and gathering dirt in her hands.

Sokka shrugged the question off easily. "He'll go back out. They'll see Appa going in the other direction and think the Avatar – " he paused and gestured wildly at Aang. " – is just passing by! They won't suspect we're right where they are. They'll never know!" Iroh nodded slowly, in agreement.

"Sokka is right. It could work," Iroh murmured, pacing around. Toph let the dirt in her hands sift out to the ground.

"Well, then what would Iroh and I do?" Toph asked, frowning. Sokka smiled triumphantly.

"I thought that out already. You won't go with us. You'll go back up with Appa. You need to be hanging your arms out at the saddle, so they would really fall for the trick," Sokka explained in the all-knowing voice.

Toph frowned, her eyebrows creased in confusion. "Hanging my arms out?"

"Yeah! You do that every time when we're riding Appa. It's like a known fact. Oh and plus other things that you do, like pointing into nothing and say we've reached our destination, and dig your nose in front of people…" Toph's eyes widened in shock at the direction of the conversation. "…and plenty of other disgusting things too. You even scratch your – "

"There he goes again," Aang states, looking up at a figure being thrown high in the sky. He turned back to look at Toph. "Be sure to remind me to never make _you _angry, Toph."

The blind Earthbender's face showed multiple shades of red in embarrassment, and turned her face away quickly.

Sokka landed with a loud thump on Appa's saddle again, and raised a feeble, shaking, index finger. "And _no _jokes about Toph _at all_."

"Your plan's going to work, Sokka. I'm sure of it," Aang smiled warmly, packing the last of the stuff they needed to bring on to Appa's saddle.

Toph climbed onto the saddle, and Iroh followed suit, glancing back to see what they missed.

"It will, if Toph stops hurting the prisoner already. Any more throwing and Azula won't have any bones left in me to break," Sokka grumbled, rubbing his butt as Appa took off from the small Fire Nation village.

All of them laughed in unison at the joke, while Toph mumbled an inaudible apology even though she didn't feel half-obliged to.

* * *

"That's it." Sokka and Aang looked over Appa's head to see a billow of constant smoke coming up from the horizon. Toph blew out a sigh and lay down on a sack, using it as a pillow.

"Wow, that's nice. Hey Toph, come check it out –" Aang stopped, rubbing his head. "Sorry, I meant Iroh." He glanced furtively at Toph, concerned. She didn't stir, but her eyes were wide open.

Aang scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, worried that he might've hurt her feelings. But she didn't have any reaction, so Aang thought she didn't catch it, and turned to join Sokka and Iroh who were admiring the huge turtles that swam below them, since Appa was descending towards the surface to start going underwater.

Once the young airbender turned away, a tear rolled down the side of Toph's face, and hit the floor of the saddle.

* * *

"We're underneath the island! This is so cool!" Sokka exclaimed, looking at some fishes swimming past their bubble curiously. Aang was still concentrating on keeping the bubble big.

"Don't jog me, Sokka. The water pressure is getting stronger since we're diving further down," Aang complained, as Sokka ran around looking at all the different types of sea creatures.

He cleared his throat. "Alright, people. Here's the plan. Aang and I will go to the island. From there, we'll work our way up to what we're supposed to be. Iroh and Toph will take Appa away, back to the Fire Nation village. If we don't come back in two days…" Sokka paused to gulp.

"…move on to the next village, but please still continue planning the invasion, okay?" He put a hand on Toph's shoulder.

"And find Dad. He'll inform the rest of you about the plans for the invasion in my place if I don't make it." Aang nodded solemnly.

"We're here, guys. We have to split up now," Aang said, glancing back at the three of them.

"Alright. I think Toph will be better off guiding Appa out. I'm not too familiarized with your bison." Toph smiled feebly at Iroh's statement.

They emerged from the water nearby the island, and Appa swam on the spot, waiting for further instructions.

"We won't be long, I hope," Sokka smiled, gathering the young Earthbender in a hug. Aang did the same, and they both hugged Iroh goodbye too.

"May Sozin bless – I mean, may…uh, what would Air nomads say?" Iroh wondered out loud. Then he smiled warmly. "May Monkiatsu bless you?"

Aang laughed, that Iroh _did_ remember the story he told him about his life a hundred years ago.

Sokka and Aang ran off, getting ready to assume their positions, and Iroh and Toph waved goodbye at their friends, who disappeared around the corner.

"Aang is a good guy. You've chosen well." Toph snapped her head up in attention.

"What -? No, I –" she stammered, shocked. Iroh smiled warmly.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be okay." Appa took off, flying in the sky, and she secretly smiled as she faced out into the open.

Then she remembered what Sokka said, and hung her arms out of the saddle. "Uhm, like this?" Iroh grinned.

"Yeah, I think that should work. I better lie down," Iroh said, propping himself on a bag. "Let's just hope my stomach's not so big that the Fire Nation guards can see its bulge right over the saddle."

They laughed loudly at the joke, while Appa flew further away from the Boiling Rock.

* * *

_Still 1 day ago._

Watching Zuko fall down brought tears to the Watertribe lady's eyes, and pulling away to hide was worse. Although they haven't been on friendly terms for a long time, it hurt to see a mutual companion fall to his doom. Katara sworn that above all the noise and haphazard firebending, she heard Zuko telling her to run and hide as he fell down. And then a flash of memory came back, shocking her again.

Zuko's gold eyes, wide open in shock, as he fell further, and further, and further…

'_You're in pieces, Katara. Fit yourself back, it's disgusting,' _she thought irritably, gnawing down on her knuckles.

She curled back into the side of the pipe, which was a huge hollow object sticking out from the rooftop of the Boiling Rock prison. Just five minutes ago, she witnessed what seemed to have changed her life forever, a battle that raged a lot of fury and anger, and she couldn't believe she was part of it. Back there, she had been so ready, so ready to kill anybody who got in her way to freedom, even Azula. She knew about everything. How she was going to escape, how she fought off those guards that kept charging at her, and how she paced herself in battle. She knew everything, clear as day, except for the fact about where she placed Zuko in her life.

The night before was an understanding between them, that he wasn't the hard-hearted man she thought him out to be. But what if it was just a mere façade? Did she want to risk her everything for that? But she did. She did whatever she could to assure his life, and when the time came, she held on to him, and didn't let go till forced.

'_So if we somehow made it out up here, what would happen? Will he help Aang and us? Or will he kick me in the stomach, and use me as a captive to find Aang? Will we…become friends?'_

Katara squeezed her eyes shut, and pressed her hand on her stomach where Azula burned her. It stung badly, and tears rolled down her eyes. She fiddled with the cap on her water skin, popping it open, and then with a delicate finger, she dipped her index finger inside. There still was a little water left. She waterbended what was left into a little stream, and maneuvered it out to heal her burn. A white glow shone as she healed her wound, and then reused the water on other tiny scratch marks and bleeding cuts.

A loud thumping sounded suddenly, and Katara lost control of the water. It splashed onto the metal floor, and she cursed silently.

"I thought I heard something. It must be the Waterbender that escaped." Katara's eyes widened in fear.

The guards had come looking for her, and there were no means of escape now.

She breathed in slowly, counting in between each breath she took.

_In, one two three._

_Out, one two three._

_In, one two three._

_Out, one two three._

She unclenched her fists and collected the water on the floor back to her water skin and stood up, taking another deep breath. If there was a time for survival instinct, the time would be now. She inched herself closer around the bend, and saw a lone guard pacing around.

'_I can take one guard,' _Katara thought triumphantly, and stepped forward so she was in clear view.

"Looking for me?" she announced, getting ready to fight. The short guard looked shocked, and then ran forward to seize her.

She was surprised he didn't attack with fire, so she dodged and bended the water out to make a small whip, and thrust it forward towards the guard, who dodged easily.

"Hold on, it's me Katara!" the guard said, holding up a hand. He pushed the helmet visor up and smiled.

Aang's face brought tears to the Waterbender's eyes.

"Aang!" she cried, and ran forward to hug him. Aang hugged back, tears running down his face too.

She broke down into sobs, as she clutched the airbender who was clad in Fire Nation armour, because finally, so very finally, she felt safe again.

* * *

Zuko's heart raced as he scaled up yet another flight of stairs.

'_When will these staircases end?' _he thought, flinging the third burnt torch away. He pried a lit one from the wall and continued running up.

He was fully clad in the armour he stole from the guard that visited him in the dungeon, and was holding the empty bowl of his gruel. He found himself in front of a wooden door, and he grabbed the bunch of keys hanging on the belt and tried all of them on the lock. The fourth one deemed right and the lock clicked open, and he shove the door back and appeared in a long hallway, lit with countless torches.

He tentatively walked along the aisle, and noticed it was filed with cages. The cages were empty, except for one in particular, right at the end. Inside, lay a young dark-skinned man, sleeping on the mattress.

"You! What are you doing here?" a female voice bellowed, and Zuko flung around, finding himself face-to-face with another guard.

"I came out from the dungeon. Where's the exit?" Zuko answered without hesitation. He had been practicing saying that since ten minutes ago.

The guard narrowed her eyes, and jabbed a thumb behind her, gesturing at the huge double doors. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut.

'_Stupid, stupid, and stupid,' _he cursed, mentally slapping himself.

"Just so you know, though, I knew that. It's just that I was wondering who's in this prison," he asked, crossing his arms and trying to keep his cool.

"Watertribe peasant, seems to be the brother of the current escapee," she huffed, seemingly tired of repeating the sentence.

'_Katara's brother, Sokka…?'_

Zuko paused, swallowing. "Well, alright. Uh, how did he get here?"

"He was found sleeping on the shore just outside the gondola. It was really weird, so we thought the Avatar was nearby, and they saw his bison flying outside in the opposite direction," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know, a real nail-biter, don't you think?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. Zuko nodded quickly.

"Yeah, nail-biting," he agreed dismissively, his mind preoccupied. He snapped back, focused. "So where's this, escapee?"

"Probably seeking shelter somewhere on this island, we're currently combing it through, hence the lack of guards you see during lunch break, you know?" she muttered bitterly, indicating she found it irritating.

"I have to work double shift now. This sucks," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Zuko stated, following the direction of the conversation casually. "Say, what happened to Azula?"

"Shh! You mean the Fire Princess? We can't say her name here, she'll kill us," the woman hissed, doing a cutting motion at her neck with her hand. She glanced around furtively, even though there was clearly no one else in the hallway.

"She left on a war balloon," she whispered. Zuko's eyes widened.

"Why?" he questioned, intrigued.

"She's gone to chase the Avatar. You know his bison? Yeah, she left in that direction too."

"You say it's the bison, right?" Zuko asked, his eyebrow creased in confusion.

The woman guard frowned. "Yes, I did."

'_Strange.'_

"Thanks for the small talk, but I have to go now," she said, remembering something. "Keep a close eye on this fellow, he talks really loudly. Little smartass."

Zuko watched her leave through the double doors, and it closed back with a click.

He was alone with Sokka.

"Sokka!" Zuko hissed through gritted teeth, clutching the bars of the prison.

He shook the gate, and the sound of metal against metal rasped through the hallway, as the lock hit against the bars. Sokka turned over to the other side on his mattress. Zuko breathed out a sigh, and unhooked the bunch of keys hanging on his belt. He fiddled through them, and tried each one on the lock.

'_Please, please, please.'_

The last one gave a satisfying click, and the lock opened. The gate swung back with a push, and Zuko hurtled in, shaking Sokka roughly.

"Ow, what!" he grumbled, his eyes snapping open. He saw Zuko and pushed him off. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up," Zuko retorted, standing up. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Sokka crawled further back into the wall. "Go where? I'm not going anywhere with you! Stay back, or taste Boomerang!"

Zuko put his hand to his head and clutched his hair in exasperation as he watched Sokka reach behind his back.

"Look, your boomerang isn't there!" Zuko reasoned, losing his patience. Sokka fingered where his boomerang was supposed to be.

"Of course not, you stole it!" Sokka narrowed his eyes at the Crown Fire Prince. "Stay away from me. I know what you did to Katara!"

Zuko's eyes widened. "I didn't do anything!" he shouted, crossing his arms.

"I know you brainwashed her! She wouldn't go with you! She wouldn't!" Sokka babbled, standing up and assumed a fighting stance.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked, his face crinkling with confusion. He raised his eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

"You probably put a love spell on her or something in Ba Sing Se!" Sokka continued, his arms and legs akimbo.

"Sokka, you've lost your mind! I didn't do such a thing!" Zuko whisper-shouted.

"Why would she flinch back into you, then?" Sokka growled.

Zuko remembered the event when it happened, and sighed. "She was hurt! The Avatar touched her wound! So happened, that I was standing right behind her! There's nothing wrong with flinching when somebody touches you at a painful area!"

Sokka crossed his arms over his chest. "You want me to believe that weak excuse?"

Zuko sighed in irritation, turning away in anger. Sokka stepped forward, jabbing an accusing finger.

"You want me to fall into your trap, just like Katara did in the catacombs?" Sokka continued jabbing his finger.

"Do you –" Jab.

"Want me –" Jab.

"To fall for something, entirely _stupid _–" Jab.

"_Like that?_" Jab.

Zuko rolled his eyes and swatted Sokka's index finger away. "First of all, I did no such thing as setting a trap! Secondly, I'm trying to help you! I helped Katara, and I'm helping you now!"

"Forget it! I don't need your help! I can still breathe, thank you!" Sokka said, barging past Zuko towards the gate.

"Wait! You'll get caught like that!" Zuko informed the angry Watertribe civilian. Sokka didn't have an answer to retort with, so he kept quiet and crossed his arms defiantly.

"They'll know you have escaped, if you walk out. Even if you assumed the position of a guard, they'll still know you, as prisoner, has escaped. You'll wreak havoc if you do anything now," Zuko reasoned slowly, keeping his temperamental side in check.

Sokka sniffed in retaliation, though he agreed. "What then?" he snapped.

"You should stay here, and I'll try to come up with something." Sokka rolled his eyes, but stormed back into the prison anyway.

"I'm going to find Katara before they find her, and I'll get back to you with an escape plan. I need time to sort these things out." Sokka sat on the mattress, thinking.

"Alright, but you better not go back on your word!" he growled, as Zuko stepped outside and locked the gate.

"My uncle said; Every man has a right to freedom," Zuko stated. "I'm going to give you the key for your prison, so that you can get out whenever you want if you don't trust me. But remember, whatever you do could affect the plan and order of things."

He pried the last key out from the bunch of keys, and slipped it between the bars. Sokka looked at it, but didn't touch it.

"Sokka," Zuko started. "I'm only trying to help you guys. I don't mean harm. I realize, that I had complications, but now I know for sure, I have to help play my part in the war, and my destiny is to help the Avatar restore balance to the world." Sokka didn't say anything, but his face wasn't masked with anger anymore.

They shared a silent moment, before Zuko readied himself for the long day ahead, and left via the double doors.

* * *

"Iroh, I'm no listener, but I can pretty clearly hear another engine," Toph declared, her eyes squinting.

"What?" Iroh mumbled, stirring from his deep slumber.

Toph closed her eyes. "I hear…an engine. Coming towards us. What is it?"

Iroh sat up, and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, and something caught his attention. Something big and red, quite far away.

"What is it?" Toph asked again, filled with curiousity.

Iroh's eyes widened with shock, and his mouth opened agape, as he stared on in terror.

Toph scuffed her foot on Appa's saddle, losing her patience. "What _is _it?"

"It's a Fire Nation air balloon!" Iroh announced.

Toph whistled under her breath. "This isn't part of the plan, isn't it?"

"This is bad, this is really bad," Iroh muttered, looking forward to see where they could seek safety.

"What are we going to do?" Toph asked, panic in her voice.

"Pray," Iroh answered, biting his lower lip.

Azula stood in the control centre of the air balloon, watching the Avatar's bison through the glass window.

"Princess, do we continue chasing them…or?" The lieutenant asked, bowing near her.

"No, we're going to show them hell. Prepare the cannons," she ordered, smiling wickedly.

"The cannons are ready!" a guard shouted, from outside the door. The lieutenant looked at Azula, waiting for further instructions.

An evil smile played on her lips, before she spoke again.

"Fire."


	6. Square One

Square One (by Tom Petty)

_It took a world of trouble_  
_It took a world of tears_  
_It took a long time, to get back here_

* * *

She couldn't feel.

Toph couldn't sense the ground from high up in the air on Appa, and this panicked her. All she heard were explosions in the far distance and ragged breathing near her.

And heat. She could feel extreme heat, almost like _fire_.

Iroh shoved the twelve-year old Earthbender to the side, in vain attempt of dodging the deadly ball of fire that whizzed past them, missing Toph's head by a few inches.

"What's happening?" she screamed, wincing in pain as her small body struck a protruding scrap of wood that lay on the saddle.

"We're under attack!" Iroh replied, scrambling up to Appa's head.

"I _know_. By who?" Toph shot back, irritated. She tried to sit up, but the sudden pain stung her again.

"Our favourite enemy," Iroh informed her, grabbing for Appa's rope. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry. Bend over, it'll help ease the pain."

"I don't want to _bend over_! This is ridiculous! Let me help! Where are we?" Toph shouted over the noise as Appa flew higher to dodge the fire balls.

"Toph, I don't think now's the time to –"

"Tell me where we are! I can help!"

"Toph –"

They were interrupted by a loud growl from Appa, who swooped downwards steeply to avoid another fireball. The sudden plunge caused Iroh to lose his grip, and he swung his body around to cling onto the reins, while Toph was sent hurling into the air.

Mid-air, Toph felt the whole world tilt. She couldn't feel the ground, and she couldn't feel anything solid. She just…couldn't feel anything. And it pained her.

She stretched her arm out, wanting to grip onto something. Anything. She stretched both her arms as far as they would go, and then she clenched her fists in defeat, letting herself plummet to the ground.

'_I feel so helpless. So very, very, helpless.'_

She curled her small frame into a ball, and let herself continue falling.

Appa flew further away, until they were out of range from the fireballs, before Iroh turned around to see if Toph was okay.

Instead of seeing her safely onboard the saddle, Iroh saw her free-falling in the air, about 50 feet from the ground.

"Toph!" he screamed, pulling on Appa's reins to reverse their direction.

In all his haste, Iroh had forgotten about Azula's onslaught of fireballs, and he turned Appa right into the pathway of a huge, burning mass of fire.

Appa's growl was the last thing Iroh heard before he was sent spiraling to the ground.

* * *

Sokka eyed the lone brass key that lay about a metre in front of him.

'_Shouldn't I just take this? It's mine. I could get out.'_

He shook his head, and glanced away.

'_No, it's too dangerous. I can't risk Katara's life. She could get killed.'_

Biting his lower lip, he tentatively edged closer to the gate, swiped the key, and pocketed it. Satisfied with not alerting any attention of the guards that were just positioned outside the double doors, he moved to the corner of the cell, and sat down.

He drew out the key, feeling how light it felt and its rusty surface. Suddenly, the double doors flew open, and in shock, he threw the key up in the air. The woman guard in-charge of Sokka trudged in, her lip curled in disgust.

"Bastards, all of them! Damn those bastards!" she muttered under her breath, cursing a few more profanities before pausing in front of Sokka's cell, placing his tray of food down.

Sokka gulped at how close he was to almost being caught red-handed, and stood up, attempting to put on the discerning tone and acerbic attitude he usually reserved for enemies and such. Hopefully, she would think nothing was going on.

"It's about time, I was hungry," he made his way over to the wrought iron bars and smiled hungrily at the food that was settled on the ground.

"Silence!" the guard spat, reaching around her waist for the large bunch of keys.

There was a lot of tiny keys that hung on the loop, but she knew exactly where to look for. She fiddled a few more keys hurriedly before finally deciding on a rusty, brass one, identical to the one Sokka had. She flung the gate open after unlocking it and pushed the tray over to his side, and then closed it quickly, before Sokka tried to escape.

He lifted both his arms out, spreading his fingers wide and palms facing her. "I'm not trying anything funny. You can relax."

"Right, and I suppose you can tell me that the Banished Prince is right in the Boiling Rock, too," she laughed condescendingly, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, yeah, he is," Sokka replied in a cheerful tone, bending down to grab his tray, which balanced a small bowl of gruel, topped off with spring onions.

She gave a derisive snort, and shook her head to herself, smiling amusedly. "Prisoners. Wackier by the day, I say."

"No, really," Sokka smirked, holding the tray and jutting out his chin.

She stopped laughing. "What's with the chin jut?"

"You better duck," he chorused, stepping back. She swung around and found Zuko standing behind her, and he swiftly threw a left punch, knocking her out cold.

"Told you so," Sokka grinned at her slumped figure, downing the contents of his bowl.

"I didn't know the guards were so friendly around here," Zuko said, checking the lock on the gate.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "And what are you doing here? Where's Katara?"

A silent Zuko told all.

"What happened?" Sokka shouted, his voice rising a pitch. "What did you do to her?"

Zuko pulled on the lock in frustration. "Nothing! Okay? I don't know where she is! I've scoured the whole building, but I couldn't find her anywhere!"

"What? Impossible!"

"It's the truth!"

A guard shouted from the corridor behind the double doors. "What's that racket inside there? Rin? Are you okay?"

"…crap," Sokka whispered, tugging the gate.

"It's locked! Where's the key I gave you?" Zuko whispered back.

Sokka bit down on his fingernails, remembering how he lost it. "It's a long story. I happen to have misplaced it."

"Great," Zuko stated, and punched the wall with his right hand. "Now what?"

"Firebend the gate or something!" Sokka suggested, throwing the tray aside, searching for the key.

"Rin? Are you there? What's wrong?" The voice came again, more persistent than before.

Zuko glanced at 'Rin', who was apparently the female guard he had knocked out cold. A glint caught his eye, from underneath her body. The sight almost made him jump, and he grabbed the hoop of keys from her belt, and began trying all of them on the lock frantically.

"There's like a hundred keys on that hoop, it'll take ages," Sokka half-whined, as he gave up rooting through his items in the cell, and watched Zuko try the twentieth one.

"Well, at least I thought of something! If we were up to you, we'd be caught by now! Have you even found that key?"

Sokka shrugged. "I really don't know where it's gone. Try the last few, I think I saw her fiddle around there."

"Rin? I'm coming in!"

Sokka and Zuko exchanged a glance of fear, and Sokka quickly cleared his throat.

"Uh, don't, guard! I'm fine!" he shouted back, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

Zuko stifled a laugh, as he continued trying the keys. "That's a bad imitation."

"Like you could do better with your voice," Sokka whispered. He changed it to his 'female' voice again.

"You just stay out there, uh, what's your name?"

"Rin, it's only me! Are you sure you're okay, I mean, do you have a sore throat?" the guard shouted back.

"Ah! Bingo," Zuko grinned, letting the lock fall to the ground.

Sokka shouted back. "Well 'only me', I just happened to have forgotten to eat my gruel!"

Zuko hid another chuckle and positioned himself near the double doors.

Once the guard heard the reply, he barged in, ready to attack. Zuko kicked him in the stomach, and watch him fall to the ground, groaning and clutching said body part.

"Come on, Sokka!" Zuko beckoned, running out.

Sokka picked up the huge bunch of keys from the ground. "And thanks once again for these too."

He ran out, following Zuko, and leaving behind one dazed and another unconscious, trail of destruction.

* * *

"I feel horrid about everything, Katara. About leaving you behind and – "

"Shh, enough of that, Aang. It's alright. I was wrong, letting you think that way back then," Katara cut in abruptly, silencing the airbender with a wave of her hand.

They were still on the rooftop, but now Katara was fully clad in the guard uniform, as Aang had snuck a suit from the armor room that happened to have fitted Katara snugly. She had hidden her balled-up, dirty clothing behind one of the air vents.

"You say Sokka's here? And Toph too?" Katara asked, as they slowly made their way down the stairs that led them to the control room.

"Well, Sokka is in one of the prison cells, but Toph is safe somewhere else. She and Iroh had gone in another direction so Azula would follow."

"What?" Katara snapped, turning around. Her sudden movement pulled the skin on her stomach and stretched her wound, and she winced in pain.

"Aang, this is Azula we're talking about! It's not some old general or something. They could get killed! And are you sure we can trust Iroh?"

They made it to the control room, and a lone soldier was inside, at the helm of the controls. Aang put a finger to his mouth, indicating silence, and nodded his head slowly in response to her question about Iroh. Katara nodded back and flicked the cap off her water skin, assuming to battle again. Instead, Aang pushed calmly pushed open the door.

"Let them free," Aang ordered, breezing towards the guard.

He looked at him, his face puzzled. "What?"

Katara wondered why Aang was so carefree, and then she realized that they were dressed as guards, and with their helmets on, nobody could arrest them. They had joined anonymity.

"I said, my friend," Aang began again, leaning back onto the control table. "We need the prisoners out. Could you do it for us?"

The man snorted and raised his chin towards Aang's direction. "Orders from the very top insist I do not take any other further instructions unless it's from him himself. We're currently under lockdown, with the case of the Watertribe escapee."

Katara exchanged a glance with a slightly flustered Aang. He tried again in a cool voice. "Well, I was sent from the very top."

The guard sighed, rolling his eyes, and promptly ignored the disguised Airbender. Suddenly, he saw a smooth stream of water starting to curl around his neck, and he panicked. Before he made a sound, the stream clenched inwards, strangling him. Katara was behind, manipulating the jet of water with ease.

Without hesitation, Aang lifted the cover of the emergency handle, and pulled it down. "We're letting them out."

Katara released the tight grip on his neck and maneuvered the water back into her water skin, and he choked, before crumpling to the ground.

The alarm sounded, and all the prison gates withdrew, letting all of them out.

"Come on Katara, leave him. We've got to get to the courtyard, if any chance, we'd find Sokka there," Aang said, opening the door.

They left, running down the corridor that lead to bright daylight.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Zuko called out, running after Sokka.

They had taken down another batch of guards, fighting them openly, and Sokka had retrieved his boomerang from the weapons room where the guards stashed confiscated items belonging to the prisoners.

Sokka grinned. "The courtyard."

They turned around a corner, gasping for air and stopping. "Is it that the huge area outside where the prisoners hang during their break?"

"Yeah, from there, we can plan our escape route. Maybe through the gondola," Sokka suggested, shrugging his shoulders and leaning against the wall.

"Oh, okay. Sounds like a good plan," Zuko agreed, bending over and panting for air.

"You know what, Zuko, you're quite a good fighter back there. And you're not that bad either. I mean, in character," Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I guess I'm kind of sorry for not trusting you back there. You've changed."

Zuko half-smiled. "Thanks, Sokka. And I'm sorry for the bad things I've done before. I was confused…"

He let it trail off, and Sokka nodded slowly, understanding.

Zuko lightly punched Sokka in the right arm. "And hey, you weren't too bad either. Fighting, I mean."

Sokka grinned, about to retort with a comeback, when a sudden ringing alarm sounded through the corridors, echoing loudly.

"What's that?" Sokka shouted, clapping his hands over his ears.

"I think it's an alarm," Zuko shouted back, clearly stating the obvious and looked around. He paused, straining his ears. "Wait, are those footsteps?"

"Yeah, and it's by the hordes," Sokka looked around the corner. A steady stream of prisoners rushed by, running.

"I think there's something going on. Let's get to the courtyard."

Zuko and Sokka slipped their helmets back on, and joined the crowd, running to the exit of the dreary building.

* * *

The courtyard was filled with hordes of people milling around, dotting the entire once empty area with clumps of red, as friends within the Boiling Rock prison congregated with those they knew. Some groups were fooling around, pushing each other, screaming on the top of their voices, while other groups were mainly discussing why they were released suddenly, as exercise time was usually scheduled much later in the day. The hot sun blazed upon the prisoners, and the guards were nowhere to be seen yet.

"Wow…" Aang muttered as he shielded his eyes with his hand as the sunlight rays shone on him. They had just emerged in bright daylight and the intensity of the light rendered him temporarily blind.

Katara did the same as she ran out, and almost hit the railings in front of her. She gripped onto them before losing her balance. From the level they were at, the whole courtyard was laid out like a giant painting.

Dull, grey walls closed up around as the huge perimeter, almost like a rectangle and caging in the many prisoners clad in their standard-issue red clothes.

Katara and Aang were standing on the third level, where the guards would usually stand to keep an eye on the daily exercises. However, still as before, none of them were around, much less to say standing there for duty. Of course, since they were both dressed in the usual guard armour suits, prisoners who happened to look up saw Katara and began pointing and shouting, now curious for answers.

Katara stepped back from the railings, disappearing from their line of sight and into the shadows behind her.

"Aang, what are we going to do now?" she whispered quickly, her voice panicked.

Aang stood silent for a moment, contemplating.

"We should find Sokka," he said shortly. Katara nodded slowly in agreement, and then tried peeping over the railings so that she could get a clear view of the courtyard, at the same time trying not to be seen.

Another shout from an angry prisoner echoed against the walls and she withdrew her head back quickly.

"Why are they so hostile?" Katara mumbled, lifting up the visor of her helmet.

A sudden uproar began below, and guys started shouting, with everyone running to a particular area directly below Aang and Katara. Katara leaned over the railings as far as she could to figure out the cause of the commotion, when Aang jumped towards her and swept her up in the air, his right arm hugging her tight to his body.

"Aang?" Katara screamed, her question now sounding more of an exclamation.

"Just hold on tight, Katara," Aang assured her confidently.

* * *

_10 minutes ago._

"Hey hold on, Zuko," Sokka cut in abruptly, stopping in his tracks. They were halfway down the corridor to the entrance of the courtyard.

Zuko skidded and paused, his eyebrow creased in confusion. "What? Hurry up, we don't have enough time. We're running short on finding Katara."

Sokka held up his hand, his palm and fingers spread out wide. "You're wearing a guard's uniform."

Zuko tried not to roll his eyes in attempt to stay indifferent. "So? And what's with the palm raise?"

"So…the prisoners might attack you in violence, I've seen these things happen. Most unlucky things happen to you," Sokka began, folding his arms in front of his chest. "And, the palm raise is for dramatic effect. We _are_ going out to meet a few hundred rebellious people caught by the Fire Nation."

Zuko let out an exasperated sigh of disbelief. "Fine."

The banished prince began stripping off his armour swiftly and expertly, revealing simple red clothing underneath, though torn and tattered from the condition when he was held prisoner, and flung the armour to the side of the dimly lit corridor along with the helmet.

A shout echoed outside, followed by a few angry hollers.

"Something's happened, let's get out," Zuko gruffly stated, and the duo left the main prison hall for the courtyard.

They had some explaining, reasoning, and searching to do. And saving, of course.

* * *

Aang and Katara both went sailing over the railings and free-falling to the courtyard, with Katara trying her best to keep her voice down with the sudden jump. Aang created a billow of air below the both of them, and they slowly settled down to the ground without so much of a sound. Nobody saw them as they were all rushing to the prisoners' entrance of the courtyard.

"Stop, everyone!" announced a voice. "Relax, and please do not gather!" The crowds of people defiantly, but slowly, parted away from the source of the voice at the entrance.

"That voice sounds familiar," Katara whispered to Aang, as she slipped out of his grasp, slightly blushing. Aang quickly let go, and glanced at the floor.

"Alright people, I know, I know. You all got released and now there's no guards but you can't go anywhere and there's nothing you can do now. Azula and most of the guards have left the Boiling Rock in attempt to capture the Avatar, and meanwhile, the little guards left here are unconscious, passed out cold on the floor back in the building," the person continued to explain.

The prisoners started hollering and cheering loudly, and Katara and Aang strained to see the mysterious source of the voice.

"We're all going to get out of here!" Another different person shouted. His voice was deeper and much more hoarse, and Katara knew exactly who he was.

Zuko stepped out. "And we should all collaborate together for any likely chance of everyone escaping."

"We're thinking of escaping out through the gondola, and out by a stolen air ship. They have a few spares around if we look hard enough, I reckon," Zuko added, glancing at Sokka.

He nodded in response, and began separating the groups of people up with each a different duty to complete for their rough escape plan.

Zuko shifted his gaze forward, and only then noticed that Katara was standing a good 20 feet away. Even though her figure was clad in armour, he could see her long, brown wavy hair resting limply around her frame.

Katara lifted her helmet off, stunned at seeing Zuko again. His shirt was shredded, and his pants were dirty and half a leg of the material was gone, ripped at the seams. His slippers were worn down, and his hair was tousled and ragged-looking. Even his cheeks were a bit sunken, and his eyes didn't glow as golden as before. Basically, he could be mistaken for a starved beggar.

She didn't have the right to say anything, or even comment about his appearance. She didn't even have the right to run up there and hug him, contented to know he was alright and managing fine since Azula went berserk. All this time she thought he had suffered painfully, maybe even tortured to death through cruel methods given the anger sparked by Azula over the battle, even though she had kept the worst thoughts out of her mind. Seeing him standing there, although pale and almost emaciated, her heart still pounded a million times, her blood rushing to her head. Dizzy, she stumbled forward, her feet moving on their own accord. A simple, paced walk-shuffle turned into a full-blown run, her legs moving faster. She sprinted right up to him, flung her arms around his neck, and hugged him tight.

Tears rolled down her eyes, and she sniffed, using the back of her hand to wipe her face dry. "I thought you were gone."

Zuko just stood there, his arms not hugging her back, but not by his sides. He was in a state of shock, and his mouth was a small, little round 'O'. Aang was still standing stock still where Katara once was, his face showing surprise, confusion, and hurt, ever since Katara made the dash across the courtyard.

There was no mistaking it now; she had gone by her own free will.

Then Zuko hugged Katara back tightly, both of them locked in a warm embrace of friendship – or maybe more – as they stood there in the middle of the courtyard amongst the hordes of prisoners hurrying around, to prepare for the first escape ever out of the infamous Boiling Rock.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I know hiatus has started after this chapter, which is pretty cruel seeing how this has ended off on the most Zutara-esque bit of the entire story. I hope you guys thought it had been a pretty good build-up of their relationship! They were definitely meant for each other. But I ship Zutara, so of course I'd say so ;)

With The Legend of Korra stirring a new interest in the ATLA series, I've edited every single chapter of WTR. To my horror, the format in all of them have all been horribly messed up. Also, I bet you're realized that the language has altered slightly from chapter 1 to 6. Admittedly, some of the stuff I've written in chapter 1 have made me cringe, but I still stand by my work. WTR has been my first ever epic story arc which I will continue to love and cherish as long as I love ATLA and Zutara.

Still a student, I'm currently struggling in junior college, and at the end of this year, I'll be taking the infamous A'levels – forget the infamous Boiling Rock prison. So I can't promise that I'd add another chapter to this, but I can promise I'll continue working on this until it gets completed from this December onwards!

Till then

xoxoxo  
- Scarlet.


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